1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rotary cleaning member in cleaners, and particularly to such a rotary cleaning member which is not caught in cotton-like waste such as pieces of thread, pieces of cotton and the like laying on floor, but can receive the same in its dust room of cleaner, besides has improved dust collecting property in respect of finely divided materials such as sand, dust and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional rotary cleaning members in cleaners relate generally to rotary brushes having cylindrical shape as a whole which is arranged in such that a number of bristles of brush extend radially from the center of its shaft. Such type of cleaner receives directly dust on a floor by rotating such a rotary brush to spring out the dust, or conveys such dust to a prescribed dust container in combination with suction. In such a conventional type of rotary cleaner, however, since the extreme end portion of bristles in its brush holds easily cotton-like waste such as pieces of thread, pieces of cotton and the like, the rotary cleaner cannot receive the cotton-like waste in its dust room so that the rotary brush is caught by the cotton-like waste. It results in levelling of bristles of brush, so that conventional cleaners have such disadvantage of reducing dust collecting property. In order to eliminate the disadvantage, such rotary cleaner is provided with a comb teethlike part to abut it against the circumferential portion of the rotary brush, whereby pieces of thread, pieces of cotton or the like are combed off by the comb teeth-like part so that the rotary brush is released from catching by cotton-like waste. However, the effect for eliminating the disadvantage has been insufficient. Thus, it has been years of the problem to be solved in such type of cleaners as mentioned above.
In this connection, the present applicant has proposed an improved cleaner by which the disadvantage of conventional cleaners as described above can be eliminated, i.e., the rotary cleaning member thereof is not caught by pieces of thread, pieces of cotton or the like lying on floor at the time of cleaning, whereby smooth cleaning may be performed (for example, Japanese patent application Ser. No. 216589/1982 filed on Dec. 10, 1982 and entitled "Rotary Cleaning Member in Cleaner"). FIGS. 9 through 10 illustrate a state wherein the rotary cleaning member in cleaners according to the above prior application is attached to a manual cleaner. In FIGS. 9 and 10, a main body casing 1 comprises a rectangular opened bottom, the top inclining towards the bottom in any direction except for the central part, and the central part on the upper surface of which is provided with a connecting portion (not shown) to a handle. A revolving shaft 4 is provided with driven wheels 2 at both the end portions and a rotary cleaning member 3 in the central portion thereof. The revolving shaft 4 is rotatably installed between both side plates 1a and 1b inside the main body casing 1 in the central position thereof under such condition that the lower part of the aforesaid rotary cleaning member projects from said main body casing 1. Shafts 5 and 6 being parallel to the revolving shaft 4 are also installed between both the side plate 1a and 1b in front and the rear of said revolving shaft 4. Driving rollers 7 and 8 being pressed against said driven wheels 2, respectively, and each lower part thereof projecting downwardly from said opened part of the main body casing 1 are provided on the shaft 5 and 6.
Furthermore each plate 9 extending substantially horizontally with a spacing between the plate 9 and either side plate 1a or 1b of the main body casing 1 and which permits said driving rollers 7 and 8 to position therebetween is disposed on the bottom opened part of the main body casing 1 on the side of the front end of said rotary cleaning member 3 or the bottom opened part of the main body casing 1 on the side of the rear end thereof. A part of the plate 9 adjacent to the rotary cleaning member 3 rises upwardly to form half of a dust room.
The rotary cleaning member 3 is provided with a plurality of blades 10 in parallel to the axis of the revolving shaft 4 on the circumference thereof, respectively, in such a manner that one side portion of each blade is fixed to the revolving shaft 4 to extend it radially therefrom as shown in FIG. 11. Each blade 10 is made of a resilient sheet having flexibiity such as rubber sheet, synthetic resin sheet, metallic spring sheet and the like, such blade bends sufficiently when the same abuts upon the surface of floor, and any number of the blades 10 may be used.
In the construction of a manual cleaner as described above, when the main body casing 1 is placed on floor, the lower surfaces of the driving rollers 7 and 8 projecting from the bottom opened part of the casing 1 abut upon the surface of a floor. In this case, said driving rollers 7 and 8 may abut upon the floor without any trouble, because the blade 10 of the rotary cleaning member 3 contacting with the floor bends. When the main body casing 1 is slid on the surface of the floor in front and the rear directions by utilizing a handle (not shown), the driving rollers 7 and 8 roll on the floor, and at the same time the rotary cleaning member 3 is also rotated through the driven wheels 2 being pressed against these driving rollers 7 and 8. Due to rotation of the rotary cleaning member 3, each blade 10 rotates to convey dust to a dust room and at the same time, the blade 10 which has abutted against the floor and bent is released from the floor so that such blade 10 springs out dust and the like lying on the floor at the moment of such release by means of elastic force which has been accumulated inside the blade 10 during a period wherein such blade is bent thereby to receive the dust and the like in the dust room. More specifically, dust on the floor is introduced into the dust room by means of the elastic force and rotating force at the time when each blade 10 leaves from the floor.
In accordance with such construction of the rotary cleaning member as described above, there is not such case where the extreme end portion of the blade 10 which is in abutting condition against the surface of the floor is caught by cotton-like waste such as pieces of theread, pieces of cotton or the like and hence, the rotary cleaning member is not caught by any cotton-like waste.
However, when the rotary cleaning member in such a cleaner is on a carpet floor where there are a number of fine concave and convex portions due to the pile thereof, the blade 10 bends at a convex portion 11, but does not abut upon a concave portion 12 in the floor surface as shown in FIG. 12, because said blade 10 is composed of a flat elastic plate. For this reason, there is a fear of such case where said rotary cleaning member cannot clean up such dust, particularly fine dust or the like stored in the concave portion 12. More specifically, there has been a case where a rotary cleaning member in conventional cleaners cannot make the blade 10 to follow concave and covex portions on floor, so that the blade 10 cannot sufficiently abut against the whole surface of a carpet.